VE10 The Natural Moral Law and Conscience PDF

Natural Moral Law and Conscience Thomas Aquinas Objectives Explain the key descriptions or characteristics of being a human person. Identify experiences that relate to being a human person according to the Natural Law. Have you ever wondered… Why there are times that you know what i...

Natural Moral Law and Conscience Thomas Aquinas Objectives Explain the key descriptions or characteristics of being a human person. Identify experiences that relate to being a human person according to the Natural Law. Have you ever wondered… Why there are times that you know what is good for you, yet you still choose or do what is ‘bad’ for you? Why do you think this happens? Or what is the cause of this? The Natural Moral Law aka The Natural Law Theory  Thomas Aquinas said that this Law is innate to us, humans. We have this built-in knowledge of knowing what is good and what is bad—whether or not we have a knowledge of who God is or His commands.  Further, this Natural Moral Law is founded upon the seven Basic Goods which all humans tend to seek. However, this ‘seeking for good’ is negatively influenced by our emotions and our ignorance.  There are, however, some criticisms on this perspective. If you do not believe in a God, then you will not believe all the other principles of the Natural Law Theory. It does not mean that when something is, then it is what is ought to be. (Is-ought problem by David Hume). Definition of Terms  The Natural Moral Law is the law that is within the person as a human being which directs him/her toward an end or purpose.  Recall our past lesson on the Will of a person. According to the Natural Moral Law, the will is directed to the acquisition of the good.  Conscience is a capacity that flows from the intellect of a person and then enables him/her to judge the morality of an act in a particular situation in light of the Natural Moral Law.  (Diaz, J.M., Quiambao, D.S. & Ramirez, V.E., 2016)  Example: an uncontacted tribe (in 2014), despite being isolated, still had their notion of what is good Moral Strengths and Weaknesses  Aquinas explained that because of our emotions and/or ignorance, we fail to do good.  Because of our ignorance, at times, we fail to choose or do what is good—simply because we do not know that something is bad for us, or that something is good for us.  Example: You simply copied and pasted from a website your answer to an essay question because you have no idea what plagiarism is.  Because of our emotions overpowering us, though we know what we should do, we end up not doing what we know we should do.  Example: You know you should not talk back to your parents but you did because you felt so angry at the very moment they were giving you a ‘sermon’. Moral Strengths and Weaknesses  Aside from ignorance and emotions, our history and ‘make-up’ *not referring to cosmetics* as a person (i.e., the way we were raised, the culture we grew up in, our past experiences) affects our ‘moral compass’.  Thus, we have unique sets of strengths and weaknesses when it comes to making moral decisions.  While we must be understanding of each other, this is not an excuse to tolerate each other’s weaknesses. We must all aim to transcend these weaknesses. I’d like to hear your views on the following matters. Alms-giving – Is it helping or is it ‘tolerating’? Abortion – Does it support or violate human rights? Heard from a talk show: Would you rather be kind or right? Could you think of other moral issues today?  There are simply too many moral issues that society is facing nowadays and the discussion and debate about these may be endless. But at the end of the day, one question remains: what do we do about these issues? Let us break the cycle. Inner state of Where do we disoriented motivations start? Moral evil in Morally wrong our society decisions and in the world Kind or Right? In a time of social media where everyone can say their opinion on anyone, the safe answer is to choose to be kind. Why? For fear of judgment, of bashing, etc. To always choose to be right is a brave choice, but the danger is in becoming too rigidly right to the point of not giving consideration when it is needed. Kind or Right? “Open rebuke is better than secret love.” – Proverbs 27:5 “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!” – Proverbs 15:23 “A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” Proverbs 15:1 Why choose between being kind and being right when you can be both? Levels of Motivation Fear-driven – fear of punishment; desire for reward Pity-driven – moved by pity for others Principle-driven – based on the universal significance of a related law Faith-driven – founded on one’s relationship with God In Conclusion… “Therefore, following the natural moral law of doing good and avoiding evil requires courage. As doing good may become a painful reminder to other people of how they should conduct themselves, they may turn to hate, envy, or even hurt other people physically or verbally rather than affirm and thank them. Everyone must be ready to that untoward experience and remain faithful to do good and avoid evil.” (Diaz, J.M., Quiambao, D.S. & Ramirez, V.E., 2016) References: Diaz, J.M., Quiambao, D.S. & Ramirez, V.E. 2016. Good character matters. Vibal. Javier, P.S. III, and Dango J. 2017. The new grade 10: character formation for nation building. Sibs Publishing House